Hiking Challenges

Quoteworthy:

"We were amazed at the success of this venture. Over the years we have tried many approaches to bring people into the park, but the idea of a year-long hiking challenge hit the right note. We are thrilled with the numbers of hikers who are coming, the distances they are traveling, and their response to experiencing the park."

-- Mary Priestley, FSC board member and author of "Hike 'em All: A Guide to Hiking in the South Cumberland"

The Friends of South Cumberland have put together several collections of interesting and beautiful hikes in the park, each organized by a common theme. Our most recent challenge, "Hiking in Mack's Tracks," honors the efforts of Tennessee State Naturalist-Emeritus Mack Prichard to protect the most scenic and ecologically-significant places in the South Cumberlands. Hikes in this series take participants to every section, and along every trail, in South Cumberland State Park. The park has over 90 miles of completed trail, ranging from relatively easy, short day loops to longer and more challenging multi-day hikes in the more remote areas of the park, with additional trail being built by Park Rangers and Friends volunteers in several newly-acquired areas of the park.

In prior years, our hiking challenge themes have included Hike All 14 in 2014, The Waterfalls Challenge and Hike Into History.

Each year's challenge typically kicks off at the end of February. To learn more about the still-popular Hike Into History hiking challenge, visit our Hike Into History page.